Sprinkler head for fire-extinguishing systems



June 11, 1935. c, RQWLEY 2,004,833 SPRINKLER HEAD FOR FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEMS Filed May 18, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 11, 1935. A. c. ROWLEY I SPRINKLER HEAD FOR FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEMS Filed May 18, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 11, 1935 UNITED STATES ING SYSTEMS 'Arthur C. Rowley, Drexel Hill, Pa., assignor to I Globe Automatic Sprinkler Company, Philadelphia; 'Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 18, 1934, SerialNo. 726,360 8 Claims. (01. 169--38) ,This invention relates to improvements .in sprinkler headsv for fire-extinguishingv systems, and a principal object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head of generally improved pharacteristics.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head in which all of the working parts are housed and'thereby substantially protected from the deteriorating effects of changing atmospheric conditions and accumulations of dirt and undesirable foreign substances. i

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head which shall be relatively inexpensiveto manufacture, more compactand of better appearance than the sprinkler heads of the prior art, less liable to faults afiecting the operation of the device, and generally of more efficient construction.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head so constructed that the fu-l sible material constituting the release element shall be subjected to a minimum of strain and shall be free from shearing. stress,the strain to which the said material is subjected being entirely compressive.

The invention further residesin certain novel structural details and features. hereinafter set forth andlillustrated in the attached drawings, in which:

Figure l is a view in perspective ofv a sprinkler head made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of thesprinkler head;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of one of the elements of the assembly;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a-method ofassembly; I i

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of another embodiment of my invention;

' Fig. 6 is a section onthe line 66, Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a section onthe line -l'l, Fig. 5; and Fig.3 is a view in perspective of oneof the-elements of the assembly shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '7. "With reference to the drawings, the sprinkler head in a preferred embodiment comprises a tul isformediwith a seat 5 for a closure element 6,

which'ele'ment in thepresent instance takes the form of'a concaveddisk. in assembly a copper oro'ther suitable gasket 1 is interposed between theelement 6 and-the seat'5 and completely covers the underiside "of the closure: element. :The element 6 is held upon the seat 5 through the medium of a pin 8, one end of which rests inthe concaved upper face of the element 6 and which is confined at its opposite end by an inverted dished element 9. Bearing against the upper surface of" the element 9 is a plurality of segmental strut 5 elements Iii which together and in normal assem' bly form a substantially closed annulus the upper ends of which are confined jby a flangedjre-1 taining ring H. Between the upper endsofflthei strut elements ID is confined a disk. I2 of a suitable fusible compound which holds the said upper ends of the strut elements'against theside walls of the retaining ring II The strutelements Ill, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, are formed with arr outer segmental portion l3, whichas previously described fits within the retaining ring III, and this portion l3 terminates at its inner end in an outwardly projecting shoulder M, from which the strut inclines inwardly toward the inner edge V which engages the beveled outer surface of the 20- element 9. v l 1 Threaded on the extremity 3 of the body mem-" her i is a sleeve l5 the upper contracted end of which closely. embraces thestrut assembly at "a.

point immediately above the shoulder l4 and 25 which when turned down upon the body member forces the struts. downwardly against the element 9, and thereby forces the element 9 down upon the upper end of the pin 8. pin, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided adjacent its lower end, with 'a transversely projecting flange H; which forms a seat for a spring I! the upper end ,of which en gages the under side of the element 9. In assembly, see Fig. 2, the spring I! is held under compression between the flange I6 01:" the pin 8 and the element 9. It will be noted that sufiicient clearance is provided between the adjoining side edges of the strut elements lOto permit these elements to move inwardly in the release operation,,as hereinafter described. 40

In assembling the elements, of the device,,"see' Fig. 4, the retaining ring I I placed in inverted position within a suitably formed die I8, and a. disk 12a of the fusible composition-inserted in the ring as illustrated. fThe portionsi3'of the 4 strut elements 10 are inserted through thecone tracted end of the threaded sleeve I5, which is; placed in inverted position in the upper end of the die, and are located in'their proper relative positions within thesleeve ll. Heat is then applied. to fuse the disk i-Za, which-flows to the bottom recesses of the retaining ring H and assumes a position as illustrated in Fig. 2. subs equentset ting of the composition unites the elements of- PATENT IIOFFlC-Efv f u 2,004,833," Y SPRINKLER: HEAD FOR FIRE-EXTINGUISH- the assembly in their proper relative positions. The closure element 6 and gasket 1 are then inserted in the body member I, as are the pin 8,

the spring I! and the element 9 all in their proper relative positions, When now the sleeve I5 is turned down upon the extremity 3 of the casing I, the inclined ends of the strut elements l engage the beveled upper surface of the element 9 and force the latter downwardly upon the pin 8, the spring I! being placed under compres sion, and the closune elementfi through the medium of the pin 8 and the element 9 being forced by positive pressure upon the seat 5.

The sprinkler head further comprises a rod l9, bent to U-shape, the ends of whichare inserted in'apertures at opposite sides of the flange 4 of the body-member I. The inserted ends of the rod H! are recessed, as indicated at 20, and impact through the medium of suitable tools upon the side surfaces of the flange 4 at points opposite the recesses 20 forces the metal of the flange inwardlyinto the recesses 20, and thereby locks the rod IS in position. At the upper end of the pin 8 exerts the retaining pressure upon the 010- sure, element 6, by reason of the cam action of the'inclined surfaces of the sleeve l upon the rounded shoulders 14 of the strut elementswill tend to force the upper projecting ends of the strut elements inwardly toward each other. This tendency is opposedby the body of fusible material l2, which is thus placed under direct transverse compression. This compression is uniform- 1 1y distributed around substantially the entire peripheral edge of the disk l2. When under the influence of excessively high temperatures the material of the disk l2 fuses, the projecting ends of the strut elements ID are released, and by reason ofthetension of the spring I! will be forced inwardly to an extent freeing the shoulders I4 from the sleeve !5. The struts I0 and theelement 9 are thereupon expelled from the sleeve l5 by action. of the spring which releases the pin 8, the closure element 6 and gasket 1, which are driven upwardly by fluid pressure within the sprinkler system. The water or other liquid fire-extinguishing medium which is then projected through the sprinkler head strikes the distributor disk 2| and is'distributed in the usual manner over the area protected by the sprinkler head.

It will be noted that the extremity 2 of the body portion I which attaches to the sprinkler system is provided with an inwardly tapering bore terminating at the seat, 5 which affords a nozzle effect and increases the efliciency with which the flre-extinguishing medium is projected from the sprinkler head. Y

Inthe sprinkler head described above, the yoke l9 functions only to support the distributor 2| and constitutes no element of the closure-retaining or working parts of the sprinkler head. The yoke may therefore be made of any suitable material having the'necessary tensile strength and requires none of the accurate testing necessary where, as in'the prior devices, the yoke has a functional part in the closure means. No cast metal isrequired in the construction of this device, and all the parts can be made of rod or tube stock or stamped from sheet materials, so that the expense of manufacture is relatively low. The arrangement permits a relatively compact assembly of exceptionally good appearance, and a further desirable feature resides in the fact that the working parts of the device are effectively housed and thereby protected from the deteriorating effects of moisture and. from accumulations of dirt and other undesirable foreign substances. The aforedescribed embodiment of my invention is adapted primarily for use with a fusible metallic solder, and in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8, I have 'showna form of sprinkler embodying the prin- -ciples of the invention best adapted for use, as a fusible element, of a chemical salt of the order of alphamononitronaphthalene, ptoluene sulfon dimethylamide, or acetyl P-phenetidine, which in cap 22, the depending annular flange 23 of which embraces the upper ends of the strut elements 24.

In this instance, the strut elements, one of which is shown in perspective in Fig. 8, are three in number, but are otherwise substantially the same as the elements IU of the aforedescribed embodiment and have essentially the same function. The strut elements 24 are provided intheir side edges'with recesses 25, which in assembly receive pressed-in portions 26 of the flange 23 of the retaining element 22, thus interlocking the element 22 with the struts and retaining the former in position. In conjunction with the element 22,. I employ a disk 21 which in assembly seats upon the upper edges of the struts 24' and which is provided with an annular rib 28 which acts to locate the disk on the struts and normally to retain the outer ends of the struts in the normal position of assembly within the flange 23 of the retaining member 22. The chamber thus formed between the top of the element 22 andthe disk 21 receives the fusible composition designated by the refer ence numeral 29. Normally this composition is in the form of a powdered or granulated mass, and is solidly packed within the chamber provided for its reception, and holds the disk 21 in its normal operative position with respect to the struts 24. In the fused state and as set forth above, the fusible composition possesses a low specific gravity and flows freely from its chamber through the interstices between the edges of the struts 24, thus permitting the cam action between the upper edges of the struts and the rounded rib 28 of the disk 21 to displace the said plate outwardly, and by thus releasing the upper ends of the struts permitting the strut assembly to collapse, as previously described.

The other elements of the sprinkler head are the same as those described in the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, and are given the same reference numerals. Collapse of the strut assembly as described above results in discharge of the strut assembly from the retaining sleeve l5, thereby releasing the closure element 6 and permitting flow of the fire-extinguishing medium then inverted and the retaining sleeve l threaded upon the body member I, as previously set forth. It will be noted that in this instance, the fusible element 29 is substantially enclosed on all sides, and like the fusible element [2 of the previously described embodiment is subjected to a compressive strain. 1

I claim:

1. A sprinkler head comprising a tubular body member formed with a seat, a closure element seating on said seat, and retaining means for said element comprising a sleeve adjustable on said member, and a collapsible strut assembly embraced and forcibly held by said sleeve in closure-retaining position and including a body of fusible composition acting under compression to prevent collapse of said assembly.

2. A sprinkler head comprising a tubular body member formed with a seat, a closure element seating on said seat, and retaining means for said element comprising a sleeve adjustable on said member, a strut assembly embraced and forcibly held by said sleeve in closure-retaining position, said assembly being contractible and releasable from said sleeve by said contraction, and a body of fusible composition confined in said assembly and acting under compression to maintain the assembly in expanded condition.

3. A sprinkler head comprising a tubular body member formed with a seat, a closure element seating on said seat, and retaining means for said element comprising a sleeve adjustable on said member and having a contracted outer end, a strut assembly projecting into the said outer end of the sleeve and. having portionsengaging behind said sleeve contraction and being held thereby in closure-retaining position, said strut assembly being contractible and releasable from said sleeve by contraction, and a body of fusible composition confined between the elements of said assembly and acting under compression to normally prevent said contraction.

4. A sprinkler head comprising a tubular body member formed with a seat, a sleeve threaded on one end of said member, a. closure element seated on said seat, retaining means forsaid closure element including a collapsible strut assembly embraced by the outer end of said sleeve, said strut assembly and the sleeve having cooperating cam surfaces, a spring confined under tension between said strut assembly and the closure element, said cam surfaces and the tension of said spring tending to collapse the strut assembly to thereby release it from the sleeve, and temperature responsive means held under compression at the outer end of said assembly and normally preventing collapse of said assembly.

5. A sprinkler head comprising a tubular body sembly and including a, temperature responsive element for normally preventing collapse of said assembly.

6. A sprinkler head-comprising a tubular body member formed with a seat, a closure element for engagement with said seat, a sleeve threaded on one end ofsaid member, and means embraced and normally retained by said sleeve for maintaining theclosure element seated, said means including a collapsible strut assembly projecting into and substantially closing the outer end of said sleeve and comprising at its outer projecting end a fusible element normally preventing said collapse.

7. A sprinkler head comprising a tubular body member formed with a seat, a closure element seating on said seat, a sleeve threaded on one end of said member, and closure-retaining means releasably supported by said sleeve and comprising a collapsible strut assembly projecting into the.

outer end of said sleeve, said assembly comprising a plurality of segmental elements arranged in the form of a split annulus, a retaining ring embracing the outer ends of said segments, and a disk of fusible material confined between the outer ends of said segments and normally supporting said segments rigidly in proper relative positions within'the retaining ring, fusion of said material permitting collapse and release of said elements from the said sleeve. 1

8. A sprinkler head comprising a tubular body member formed with a seat, a closure elementfor engagement with said seat, a sleeve threaded on one end of said member, closure-retaining means releasably supported by said sleeve and comprising a collapsible strut assembly projecting into the outer end of said sleeve, said assembly comprising aplurality of segmental elements arranged in the form of a split annulus, a retaining cap embracing the outer ends of said segments and releasably interlocked with the latter, a disk positioned at the outer ends of said segments and normally supportingsaid segments rigidly in proper relativepositions within the retaining cap, and a fusible material confined between said disk and the cap and normally retaining said disk in operative position with respect to said segments.

ARTHUR C. ROWLEY. 

